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Think tank: Redesign our wind turbines

A novel invention could be more efficient than current systems

Ireland's west coast is one of the best places in the world for harvesting renewable energy, largely because of the strong winds. It is also an ideal location for large, offshore wind turbines and wave-energy converters.

Ireland has easily enough natural power to supply its entire energy demand several times over until well past 2050. The main obstacles are how to make the systems cheap and unobtrusive, and how to keep the lights on when the wind is not blowing.

I propose a single solution - integrated compressed air renewable energy systems (Icares). The idea is that wind turbines, wave-energy converters and tidal turbines should compress air rather than generate electricity directly. When the wind is strong, some compressed air is used to drive large high-speed generators and the rest is stored in flexible containers under water. When the wind is less strong, the stored air is resurrected and used to